Path in Field
Pioneer Pathways 
Leavenworth County Republican Party Official Newsletter Dec 2009
In This Issue
What's going on around town?
Time to Build Anew, Not Reshape the Old
Czarist America
The Fundamental Transformation of America
GOP came unmoored in last decade
Who should I contact?
What's going on around town?
 
Dec 7
Leavenworth County Town Hall Meeting from 7-9pm at the Lansing Community Center.
 
Dec 14
LCRW's Annual Covered Dish Christmas Party from 11:30am - 1pm at the American Legion Bldg, 418 Cherokee, Leavenworth, KS.   
 
Dec 15
Hope for America Coalition meeting from 7-9pm at the Antioch Branch of the Johnson County Library.
 
Jan 4 
Leavenworth County Town Hall Meeting from 7-9pm at the Lansing Community Center.
Quick Links...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Join Our Mailing List
Check Your Voting Status at:  
Candidate TrainingLooking Ahead to 2010 
Eleven months and counting, less than one year, and the election of 2010 will be over. What will we say to ourselves after the counting is finished? Will we say we did all we could do to support the Party and our candidates, or are we going to look deep down inside ourselves and know that we could have, and should have done more so that our candidates would have won.
 
There is a lot to do between now and election day. We will kick off the "official" start of the campaign season with our Lincoln Day Dinner in February. With the large number of candidates running for election throughout the state, most will be in attendance at our dinner. You will not want to miss this event.  

We will kick off our formal training for all of our precinct committee members in March. The office of Precinct Committee Member has been called the "most powerful office in the world" because this person is the closest structured officeholder to the voter. A registered voter has no vote in internal Party policy; a precinct committee member does. The committee member elects delegates to represent the voter to the Congressional District Republican Party, to the State Republican Party, to the National Presidential Convention (in election years) and the Republican National Convention (in non-election years).

After the training, there are voter records to verify and that requires members to walk their precincts prior to the primary election in August. This provides a wonderful opportunity to get to know fellow voters in your precinct and to identify workers/volunteers to become block captains and assist in literature handouts later in the campaign season. Take advantage of this opportunity, a precinct is difficult to do by yourself. Why not look for helpers? This brings more people into the political process. 

All Precinct Committee Members stand for re-election in the August primary. Don't neglect to file for re-election with the CountyClerk's Office. If you feel the need to campaign for your position, don't hesitate to get your friends involved with you.
 
If you are not currently involved in the political process but want to be, contact your precinct committee member by going to our website at www.LvnCountyGOP.com.  We have ample opportunities for everyone.

The primary visible indicator that the campaign season is in high gear will be the yard signs. Many of us will be directly involved with these; putting them out, as well as looking for friends willing to do the same. Start making a game plan now; so that when the time comes, we will know where to put signs for our candidates. 

As you can surmise from this, a lot of things will happen between now and Election Day. Will you make a commitment to join with us and keep America the free nation we know it to be? Please do not be content to sit back and wait for someone else to do the work, hoping their efforts will be enough -- it may not be. Freedom is not free -- it requires hard work from everyone who wants to reap the benefits.

John Bradford
Time to Build Anew, Not Reshape the Old  -  McCain Moderation is Politics of Convenience
by: U.S. Representative Todd Tiahrt 
December 2, 2009
Like most Americans, I am grateful for Sen. John McCain's heroic service as a fighter pilot, a prisoner of war and, for nearly a generation, a member of the House and the Senate.
 
But I am troubled by reports in recent weeks that Mr. McCain has been, as Politico put it, "working behind-the-scenes to reshape the Republican Party in his own center-right image" and has "emerged as a political godfather" to moderate candidates, including my opponent in the race for the Republican Senate nomination in Kansas.
 
In that spirit, I would like to make Mr. McCain an offer he shouldn't refuse: Let a new generation of conservative, innovative and people-focused leaders determine the future of our Republican Party.

Our nation has been thrust into a fierce debate as to our country's direction - a battle of ideas playing out in town halls and tea parties, and a discussion that goes to the very heart of what America is all about and what government is for.
 
As Washington spins out of control, the American people are finding their voice and making abundantly clear what they think government isn't for: Not for tossing out hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out banks and Wall Street firms that played fast and loose with investors' funds. Not for controlling large shares of the auto industry. Not for wasting hundreds of billions more on a cornucopia of liberal pet projects under the guise of stimulus. Not for bankrupting our country in the name of questionable science.

And decidedly, not for bringing one-sixth of our gross domestic product under federal authority and inserting Uncle Sam into health care decisions now made by doctors, patients and their families.
 
This is a conversation America could have - and should have had during last year's election campaign. As our party's standard-bearer, Mr. McCain had a once-in-a-generation opportunity both to present and to live out a new vision of limited but effective government for the 21st century.
 
In September 2008, he actually suspended his campaign to return to Washington and address the economic crisis. Had he, as part of that dramatic gesture, joined forces with the House Republican opposition to the monster bailout bill under consideration, perhaps he would have ignited, and claimed for our Republican Party, the prairie fire that ultimately became the "tea party" movement.

Instead, Mr. McCain blinked. The self-proclaimed "foot soldier in the Reagan revolution" left the mission and meekly joined his opponent in supporting a reckless and unprecedented intrusion in the markets.

Then-Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson's message of doom, despair and dependency on government won the day, as did then-Sen. Barack Obama and the Democrats weeks later - setting the stage for even bigger government "solutions" to the economic crisis.
 
Moreover, had he proposed bold solutions, like the elimination of the hated income tax in favor of a "fair tax," he could have checkmated Mr. Obama's easily understandable but pie-crust promise of a tax cut for the middle class.

And at the same time, he would have fundamentally recast the debate as to how we might free workers and business alike from the distortions of a system that punishes success and drives jobs overseas.
 
Were he not in the thrall of the global warming fantasy and captive to a hands-off approach to Alaska's North Slope and other abundant energy resources, he might have further exposed the Democrats' plan to extend the Environmental Protection Agency's arm into every nook and cranny of American life.
 
All in all, Mr. McCain's passive campaign of halfway steps and compromise measures allowed the most liberal, least-experienced presidential candidate ever to post a decisive victory - and deprived our nation of a far-reaching national discussion about the size, shape and scope of government.
 
And now he is meddling backstage trying to recast the Republican Party in the "pale pastels" that led to that crushing nationwide defeat not only for his ticket, but for our entire party.
 
In the celebrated words of Sarah Palin, "Thanks ... but no thanks."
 
The American people do not want or need more politicians of convenience. Rather, the Republican Party should present a renewed vision of smaller but smarter government for today's America, of a society that rebuilds our economy from the ground up rather than from the government down.  We want a government that promotes progress instead of subsidizing failure and that liberates the imagination of the innovator and small-business owner.
 
We need a limited government that delivers full value for every taxpayer dollar, that achieves the highest levels of convenience and customer service, and that is simpler and easier to pay for. We need a government that acknowledges what study after study shows: that real marriage and strong, intact families are the greatest source of stimulus our economy could enjoy.
 
And we want a country that reclaims our place as the most welcoming place on Earth for investments and job growth while restoring the meaning of the term "sound as a dollar."
 
Now is not the time to build moderate fiefdoms eager to make alliances with the party of Obama. Rather, we must restore the meaning of Republican to that identified by our party's first president: "government of the people."
 
Any number of bright, conservative and principled Republican leaders are ready to take up that bold-colored banner. Instead of further diluting our message, Mr. McCain should clear the way for us to build a new, people-focused party for a bright and prosperous American future.

Rep. Todd Tiahrt is a Kansas Republican and is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.
Czarist America
by: Patricia Houser
President Obama has made an end run around our Senate and named bureaucrats to be Czars over a host of issues. These unelected officials are not held accountable by anyone but the President. President Obama has repeatedly stated he is committed to an aggressive agenda to "fundamentally transform" this country into one of social justice where everyone will be on a level playing field. The rights and wealth of individual Americans will be re-distributed to achieve this social equality. In order to carry this agenda forward, our President is willing to ignore the Tenth Amendment of the US Constitution. The Democratic Congress is assuming powers that were never given to, nor intended for, our Federal Government. This administration has surrounded itself with the most radical progressives ever to be found in government service. Czarina Anita Dunn, who currently monitors Cable News Shows for anti-Obama reports, publicly stated in an address to schoolchildren that "her two most favorite role models were Mao and Mother Teresa." Mother Teresa I can understand but for one of the highest advisors to our President to reverently express admiration for one of history's cruelest dictators disturbs me. Mao stole one of the world's largest countries, murdering 70 million people to do it. Later, during Mao's cultural revolution, he experimented with 'fundamentally transforming' China. Among other changes, he mandated that medical doctors were to be removed from hospitals and taken to the fields to grow rice. People who had been laundry workers that morning replaced those doctors in the operating rooms that afternoon to perform medical procedures on unsuspecting patients. This 'fundamental transformation' of one of China's national resources resulted in the death of many of those patients. Most of us would say a few bad flakes get into every box of cereal, but it has been documented that at least another 6 to 8 out of the 30-some czars hold virtually the same ideology. Most revere Mao along with other anti-American radicals such as Castro, Che, and Chavez. They also are committed to this "fundamental transformation of America" ideology. I believe their true allegiance is to the Progressive Agenda. I believe that agenda's plan is, in part, for President Obama to surround himself with these radical czars and czarinas who can work off the public information radar screen. They insulate him from the public eye as the work continues to undermine and transform us.
Bleak sounding isn't it. Yes, but be of good cheer. I believe that Good will triumph over Evil. Don't agree with me? Read the end of the Book. And never tire of doing good.

The Fundamental Transformation of America
When Obama wrote in his book and that he was mentored as a youth by Frank, (Frank Marshall Davis) an avowed Communist, to many voters that didn't matter.
http://www.aim.org/aim-column/obamas-communist-mentor/

When it was discovered that Obama's grandparents were avid socialist, had previously enrolled Obama's mother in a socialist doctrine school, had introduced him as a young boy to Frank Marshall Davis, to many voters that didn't matter.

When many voters discovered Obama was enrolled as a child in a Muslim school, and that his father and stepfather were both Muslims, to many voters that didn't matter.

When Obama wrote in another book he authored "I will stand with them (Muslims) should the political winds shift in an ugly direction." to many voters that didn't matter.

When Obama admitted in his book that he chose Marxist friends and Marxist professors in college, to many voters that didn't matter.

When voters discovered that Obama had traveled to Pakistan after college using a still undisclosed passport, to many voters that didn't matter.

When Obama sought the endorsement of the Marxist party in 1996 when he ran for the Illinois Senate, to many voters that doesn't matter.

When Obama sat in a ChicagoChurch for over twenty years and listened to a preacher who spews hatred for America and preach black liberation theology, to many voters that didn't matter.

When an independent Washington organization that tracks senate voting records, gave him the distinctive title as the "Most liberal Senator" in Congress, to many voters that didn't matter.

When the Palestinians in Gaza, organized a telethon to raise money for Obama's presidential campaign and then redirected those funds through American channels, to many voters that didn't matter.

When Obama's voting record clearly supported complete federal gun control, to many voters that didn't matter.

When Obama refused to disclose everyone who had donated money to his election campaign, as other candidates did, to many voters that didn't matter.

When he received endorsements from people like Louis Farrakhan, Mummar Kaddafi and Hugo Chavez, to many voters that didn't matter.

When it was pointed out that Obama was a newcomer to any type of administration and had his professional experience was limited to community organizing, to many voters that didn't matter.

When Obama chose as his friends and personal advisors, Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn, both avowed revolutionary radicals, to many voters that didn't matter.

When Obama's voting record in the Illinois Senate and also in the U.S. Senate came into question, to many voters that didn't matter.

When Obama refused to wear a lapel pin of the American flag, and did so only after a public outcry, to many voters that didn't matter.

When some in Washington started treating Obama as some sort of a Messiah and attempts were made to teach children in schools to sing his praises, to many voters have that doesn't matter.

When Obama stood with his hands folded during the playing of our National Anthem and our Pledge of Allegiance, to many voters that doesn't matter.

When Obama surrounded himself in the White House with advisors who are pro-gun control, pro-abortion, pro-homosexual marriage and want to take steps to limit freedom of speech to silence opposition, to many voters that doesn't matter.

When Obama publicly aired his views on abortion, homosexuality and a multitude of other liberal issues, to many voters that doesn't matter.

When Obama was quoted as saying he recommends starting sex education in Kindergarten, including homosexual indoctrination, to many voters that doesn't matter.

When Obama's background was either scrubbed or hidden and nothing could be found his early life, to many voters that didn't matter.

When the actual place of Obama's birth was called into question and he was unable or refused to produce an original, or certified birth certificate, causing some voters to speculate why, to many voters that didn't matter.

When it was discovered that Obama had an association in Chicago with Tony Rezco, a man of extreme questionable character, now in prison, and who had helped Obama to a 'sweetheart' deal on the purchase of his home, to many voters that didn't matter.

When it became known that George Soros, a multi-billionaire devout Marxist, spent a great deal of money to get Obama elected, to many voters that didn't matter.

When Obama started appointing "Czars" (a communist term) to his administration that are radical liberals, or acknowledged Marxist/Communists, to many voters that doesn't matter.

When Obama spoke to a national audience and told America that his intentions were to "fundamentally transform our nation" into something else, to many voters that doesn't matter.

When it became known that Obama had trained ACORN workers in Chicago and served as their attorney, to many voters that didn't matter.

When Obama appointed a number of his cabinet members and several of his advisors who are self-confessed tax cheats and socialists, to many voters that doesn't matter.

When Obama appointed John Holdren, a man on record who believes in forced abortions, mass sterilizations and seizing babies from teen mothers, as his Science Czar, to many voters that doesn't matter.

When Obama appointed Cass Sunstein, who believes in "Explicit Consent", the harvesting of human organs without family consent, allowing animals to be represented in court, and banning all hunting as his Regulatory Czar, to many voters that doesn't matter.

When Obama appointed Kevin Jennings, a pious homosexual, and an organizer of "Education "Network (a group of gays and lesbians) as his Safe School Czar, and it also became known that Jennings had a history of giving bad advice to teenagers, to many voters that didn't matter.

When Obama appointed as his Diversity Czar, Mark Lloyd, an advocate of restricting free speech, the taking of something from you and giving to someone else to spread wealth, and a man who greatly admires Hugo Chavez, to many voters that doesn't matter.

When Valerie Jarrett, a declared socialist was selected as Obama's Senior White House advisor, to many voters that doesn't matter.

When Anita Dunn, Obama's White House Communications Director said, "Mao Tse Tung was her favorite philosopher and the person she turned to the most of her inspiration." to many voters that doesn't matter.

When Obama appointed Carol Browner, a well known socialist and a proponent for huge taxes on our nation's industry to work on 'Cap and Trade', as his Global Warming Czar, to many voters that doesn't matter.

When Obama appointed Van Jones, an ex-convict and avowed Communist as his Green Energy Czar, Jones had to resign when all this was made public, to many voters that doesn't matter.

When Tom Daschle, Obama's pick for Health and Human Services Secretary could not be confirmed, because he was an admitted tax cheat, to many voters that doesn't matter.

When as President of the United States, Obama, as no prior U.S. president had done, bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, and then later on to the Emperor of Japan, to many voters that doesn't matter.
 
When Obama traveled around the world criticizing America and apologizing for its faults while never reminding people of our nations worldwide contributions, to many voters that doesn't matter.

When Obama's actions concerning the middle-east indicated support for the Palestinians over Israel, our long time ally and friend, to many voters that doesn't matter.

When Obama allocated millions of American tax dollars to resettle thousands of Palestinians from Gaza to the United States, to many voters that doesn't matter. 

Obama plays politics by slowing down any decision to send more troops to Afghanistan to a snail's crawl, while troops Field Commanders insist we to have to be successful. And at the same time he is adamant that Congress not prolong a debate on health care, to many voters that doesn't matter.

When Obama began spending America into such an enormous debt, a debt which is so large it will take several generations of American taxpayers to pay it off, to many voters that doesn't matter.

When Obama used a massive spending bill under the guise of a stimulus and used government money to support the organizations, unions and individuals that helped get him elected, to many voters that doesn't matter.

When he took control over insurance companies, automobile manufacturers and banks with government money borrowed from China, to many voters that doesn't matter.

When Obama set into motion a plan to take over the control of all energy in the United States through Cap and Trade, to many voters that doesn't matter.
 
Now, Obama has a desire to take over our health care system and put it under government control. Democrats in Congress are being threatened by the DNC, when and if they run for re-election of withholding any financial support and goodwill if they do not vote affirmative on the Public Option provision in their party's health care legislation, and many voters are still saying that doesn't matter.

When Obama and his followers finally complete their transformation of America into a SocialistState, voters may finally wake up ... but it might be just a little too late.

Too many voters do not realize America is being "spoon-fed" socialism. Any one of these things alone, save and except the government taking control of our health care, would and have not had dire affects on life today in America. 
 
However, when they are all added up, there should be no question that Obama and his administration are determined to "change" America into a government that would closely parallel a Marxist/Socialist society. 
 
All of the items in the preceding paragraphs can be documented very easily on the Internet. Before you renounce all this as idle, malicious gossip, do your own Internet search. 
 
The last paragraph of Obama's administration is yet to be written. The voters in 2010, and thereafter will have a hand in writing that paragraph. Will it still be on the same course, or will it be more like the America of our parents and grandparents?  Personally, I like happy endings.

If you are an Obama supporter, please do not be angry because some of us are criticizing the President of your choice. But too many of his choices are socialistic, and there are too many incidents and facts to support this movement. 
 
Never before in our history has America been confronted with problems so huge that the very existence of our country is in jeopardy. 
 
Don't rely merely on television news and what you read in the newspapers for the truth of what's actually happening in WashingtonDC. 
 
Search the internet. Yes, there is a lot of bad information, lies and distortions, nevertheless make up your own mind on facts, not biased sound bites and political rhetoric.
 
Newspapers are becoming a dying institution and they are currently seeking a bailout from the federal government. As such, they are not likely to report anything negative about our current administration.
 
Obama has nothing but praise for all of the television news networks except Fox, a network he is wagering war against. He does not cite them on anything specific. If Fox is reporting lies, he should call them out on it, but he doesn't.
 
Democrats, Republicans, Independents and Constitutionalist, need to pull together, or watch the demise of a society that that the overwhelmingly majority of Americans love and cherish. If you are a religious person, pray for our nation.

Some of us are beginning to believe that the largest threat to America is not China, Russia, Iran, or terrorism from the Middle East, but a contingent of radical left-wing politicians in WashingtonDC.
 
Who am I - I'm a 42 year old electrician, with a wife and three children living in Wisconsin. My name will be anonymous, for I don't want the IRS knocking on my door and haunting me for the rest of my life!
 
Anonymous
GOP came unmoored in last decade - it hurt
by: Randy Pullen
This is a very good, worthwhile article that we highly recommend for you to read. Due to the copyright laws, we cannot print it in its fullness but you can follow this link to the full article.
 
Who should I contact?
Leavenworth County Republican Party Leadership
John Bradford...............................Chair
Connie O'Brien........................Vice Chair
Theresa Mast...........................Secretary
David Chartier.........................Treasurer
 
First District
James C. Tellefson.................913-651-3853
 
Second District & Board Chair
Clyde Graeber......................913-682-4514
 
Third District
John C. Flower.....................913-634-0061
 
State Representatives
Kansas House of Representatives, 39th District
Owen Donohoe.....................913-484-1152
 
Kansas House of Representatives, 42nd District
Connie O'Brien......................913-369-2933
 
National Representatives
US House of Representatives
Lynn Jenkins.........................785-234-5966
 
US Senate
Pat Roberts..........................202-456-1414
Sam Brownback ....................202-224-6521
 
Feedback or suggestions for future issues? We'd love to hear from you. Please send us your comments.
Please forward this email to anyone whom you think would enjoy its content. We respect your privacy and never share, rent or sell any email address.